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In the first novel of an explosive new series from K. J. Charles, a young gentleman and his elegant mentor fight for love in a world of wealth, power, and manipulation.

When he learns that he could be the heir to an unexpected fortune, Harry Vane rejects his past as a Radical fighting for government reform and sets about wooing his lovely cousin. But his heart is captured instead by the most beautiful, chic man he’s ever met: the dandy tasked with instructing him in the manners and style of the ton. Harry’s new station demands conformity—and yet the one thing he desires is a taste of the wrong pair of lips.

After witnessing firsthand the horrors of Waterloo, Julius Norreys sought refuge behind the luxurious facade of the upper crust. Now he concerns himself exclusively with the cut of his coat and the quality of his boots. And yet his protégé is so unblemished by cynicism that he inspires the first flare of genuine desire Julius has felt in years. He cannot protect Harry from the worst excesses of society. But together they can withstand the high price of passion.

Harry was stacking revolutionary polemics into piles when the knock came on the shop door above them.

He jolted, clutching the papers. George, crouching on the floor by the press, cursed under his breath. “Who’s that?”

“Is the door bolted?” Silas demanded.

“I—yes, I’m sure it is.” Harry could feel the sweat spring, despite the damp chill of the cellar beneath Theobald’s Bookshop. Silas cocked his head, listening. After a few seconds of silence, there was another knock.

“What if it’s the police?” George hissed. “What if it’s the soldiery?”

“Quiet,” Silas snapped. “Just a customer, like as not. They’ll go.”

Of course it was a customer, Harry told himself. It wasn’t the police or the soldiery. They’d have broken the door down.

He glanced down at the piles of handbills. They proclaimed, in great black still-damp letters, An End to the Tyranny of the Hanoverians, Bloated Leeches on the Body of England, that Draw Blood yet Leave their Patient Unheal’d. Silas had a turn of phrase that had seen him gaoled for seditionary libel once already, and this pamphlet was stark treason. If they were caught with these, all three of them would be going to some dark, stinking gaol, likely after a good flogging. And there was no way out, no way to disguise the press, nowhere to hide the evidence. . . .

Harry stared at his fingers, stained an incriminating black. Every nerve he possessed was stretched in anticipation. Even so, he jumped when the knock came a third time.

Silas put his spanner down and strode to the little wooden flight of stairs, brushing paper dust off his ink-stained hands. Harry heard him swear under his breath. The bolt rattled, and then the heavy door was pulled open with a forceful thump.

“You again.” Silas didn’t sound welcoming.

“Indeed, Mr. Mason.”

Harry clapped his hands to his mouth. George shot him an accusing glare. They both recognized the dry, educated voice.

Your bloody latitat! George mouthed silently and furiously, jabbing a finger at Harry.

His lawyer. Or, rather, the lawyer who had come here in search of Harry twice already. Silas had packed him off with barefaced denials on both occasions: nothing good came of lawyers. But now he was back again, looking for Harry, who lurked in the ink-stinking cellar running out treasonous polemics on a hand press.

Now inside the shop, the lawyer was speaking with unpleasant authority. “Your denials will not serve, Mr. Mason. I seek Mr. Harry Vane, passing under the surname of Gordon. I know he is here. I will speak to him and you will not gainsay me.”

Silas growled. There was no other word for it: he sounded like a mastiff. Harry could imagine him leaning forward, broad shoulders set and muscles thickening. “Unless you’ve a warrant, take yourself off before I help you out of here.”

There was a slight scuff of retreating feet, but the lawyer’s next words sounded testy, rather than alarmed. “Sir, I have no intention of arresting Mr. Vane. I have information to his advantage.”

George rolled his eyes. They all knew that one.

“Aye, well, if any such fellow wants advantage from you, he’ll come and find you. Out.”

“You do your friend a disservice, sir.” The lawyer’s voice was rather faint, as though he’d stepped outside. “Tell him to contact me—”

The door slammed shut. Harry let out a long breath, sagging back against the grimy wall. “God. God.”

“Aye.” George stuck his grubby hands in his pockets to hide their shake. “What’s this about?”

“I’ve no idea.”

“Why didn’t you go up, eh? Ask the old pettifogger what he wants with you? Easier to hide behind Silas, eh?” George sounded a great deal braver now that the man had gone. Typical George Charkin, all piss and wind, ever ready to seize on Harry’s fears and forget his own. He hadn’t been arrested yet.

“He’s a good man to hide behind,” Harry said, as the subject of their discussion clomped down the stairs, nail-studded soles clacking on the wood. “Silas . . .”

“I’ve no idea. Unless— You don’t think it’s the warrant, do you, Silas? From when I was a boy?” That had been preying on his mind since the lawyer had first come.

Evidently it had occurred to Silas too because he was shaking his head as Harry spoke. “They’d send bluecoats or red for you then. No, that’s not it. Maybe someone thinks you know something useful.” He considered Harry for a moment then made a face, dismissing the possibility in a rather unflattering manner. “You must have some idea.”

Harry threw his hands up helplessly. “None in the world. For all I know there is something to my advantage out there. Maybe I’ve come into a fortune.”

George cackled. “Aye, that’s it. You’re the Regent’s true son, hidden away by the Brunswick sow to spite her Husband-Hog.” That came straight from their last pamphlet on the royal family. Nobody could accuse Silas of an excess of monarchical enthusiasm. “We’ll all be riding in a golden carriage and sleeping on feather beds by week’s end.”

***ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie via NetGalley by Tasty Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review.***

I have to admit I have a weakness for historical romances, they were the first type of books I ever bought, only back then they were MF, of course. Still, I've always loved stories where I can be transported back in time to other periods and I have a special fondness for Regency romances, especially so when they are as well written as A Fashionable Indulgence.

The language, the descriptions and the dialogue, along with all the research that must have been done to write this story, contribute in transporting you in time while you're reading this fantastic story.

The son of two political activists, Harry Vane has always longed for a different life. One where he doesn't have to run away at the drop of a hat because his parents and even he were persecuted. After losing his parents to cholera, and having to work with their friend Silas at his bookshop/clandestine printshop, he's found by his cousin Richard, who has been commissioned by his grandfather to find Harry, who along with his cousin Verona are to be his only heirs. First things first, though, due to Harry's upbringing up to that point, they need to turn him into a gentleman. Enter Julius, with exquisite manners and one of Richard's best friends, who is in charge of educating Harry and turning him into a perfect gentleman. The attraction between them is immediate, but due to the restrictions of the era, neither of them act on it until they are certain their feelings will actually be reciprocated. Their relationship has an expiration date, though, since Harry's grandfather is intent on marrying his grandson off as soon as possible, and Julius refuses to be anyone's 'mistress', so to speak.

The storyline is absolutely amazing, engaging, intriguing and full of twists that will keep the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat until the last moment. The book is filled with tridimensional characters, that are all instrumental to the story, some are friends and some of them are foes, and there are some that you won't really know in which category they fall into almost until the very end. Definitely a story to be savored and enjoyed, even if you don't particularly like Historical Romances. I'll be looking foward to the next book in this series!

We are so happy to have KJ with us here at Bayou Book Junkie today! KJ, welcome and thanks for being here!

Thanks for having me!

What inspired this story?

Many, many things, but one was the Cinderella trope. We’re all suckers for that, I think: the character plucked from poverty, the dressing-up scene when torn grey and brown clothes give way to silks and colours, moving from sculleries to ballrooms. The Regency is the perfect period for turning shabby radical Harry Gordon into fine gentleman Harry Vane. But I’ve always thought that Cinderella’s story had only just begun when it ends. How do you really cope in a completely different world that judges on wealth and birth, and would despise your origins? What happens if you can’t forget where you came from?

What are your favorite qualities about each of these main characters?

I love characters most for their failings, it’s what makes them interesting. Harry has an eye to the main chance: he was brought up by parents who sacrificed everything for their cause, and he’s become pretty self-centred as a result. And Julius has made an art form of not caring about anything at all. They’ve both had to become like that to survive, but now, between them, they have a lot to learn about how to treat other people.

When did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always told myself stories in my head, but it took a very long time before I began to write them down. Mid twenties, maybe. Then I was concentrating on my job as an editor and then on having kids, so it was a long time after that before I got published. Now the stories are coming thick and fast.

A night out on the town or a night cuddling in front of the T.V.?

Evening walk in the countryside, please, with a good English pub at the end of it serving proper beer.